The present invention relates to a frame member for doors or windows in a building wherein the member is for use with an assembly in forming a concrete wall structure made up of prefabricated consumable blocks. An illustration of an assembly forming the concrete wall structure is described, illustrated and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,149,349, granted Apr. 17, 1979. The block structure of that patent includes a pair of spaced apart sidewalls or plates which are in parallel arrangement and innerconnected at their respective ends by transverse tie members. These tie members have lugs or tabs which are outwardly struck from the plane of the member to receive insulating material therebetween. A plurality of these assemblies or blocks are united together by grooves and tabs to form a building structure wall and then upon completion of the wall the blocks are filled with concrete to fill the wall structure.
With the construction of building structure walls utilizing the assembly of U.S. Pat. No. 4,149,349 there have been shortcomings involved when it became necessary to position a door or window within the wall structure. In the past the side panels or plates of the structure described and claimed in the aforesaid patent were bent inwardly toward each other whereby an opening was formed in the various wall courses. In order to finish the opening any type of standard door frame or window frame was placed in position in the opening abutting the blocks.
This created the necessity for bracing the structure in place until such time as concrete was poured into the wall of the building structure and allowed to set. Additional time was then required to remove the bracing and supports from the opening after the concrete had set. After the entire wall had set then an appropriate door or window could be hung or positioned within the frame member.
Before the advent of even the metalic blocks, in the case of ordinary concrete block walls standard metal door frames used in industrial and commercial applications were attached to the concrete blocks by the use of T bars which were inserted into the concrete block so that the door frame remained in place. The difficulty with such a structure was that the door frame because it could not be poured with concrete enjoyed a lesser fire rating than the present invention.